“In years gone by the liturgical mood of Pentecost was one of great pageantry and beauty. The eye was greeted with brilliant red banners and vestments. The sense of smell caught the rising clouds of incense as they purified the holy space of the sanctuary. The ear was delighted with the musical setting of the ninth century hymn, Veni, Creator, Spiritus…” ~ p. 173 in The Rising by Wendy M. Wright

Perhaps this video can provide just a bit of that feeling: Veni, Creator Spiritus-Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest ? (HERE is the nineteenth-century English language translation)  The music along with paintings, stained glass and other visuals provide many wonderful depictions of the Spirit.

How might you allow the Spirit to invade life more easily? As ideas arise, consider adding them to your “to do list” for this upcoming week…

PRAYER: Almighty God, Today I offer myself completely to you: all my thoughts, all my words, all I do. Make my movements a living prayer; help me unite myself to Jesus Christ in heart, mind and soul. Empower me to feel the Spirit with every breath I take, and act accordingly in answer to the question “what would Jesus have me do in this moment?”  Amen.            ~ [compilation of prayer from The Rising by Wendy M. Wright with additions by Steve Long]

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

HUMOR

• Christian Playbook humor links – new updates as of 5/22

PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES:

• For People Critically Ill, or Facing Great Uncertainty (bottom of first page shown HERE)
• Celtic Daily Prayer
• CP Prayer Page – containing LOADS of possibilities…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 31, 2020:

• Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30
• Psalm 104:24-34, 35b 
• 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 or Acts 2:1-21  
• John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39

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As we read the Lectionary scripture in preparation for this Sunday, we realize – it’s Pentecost! A good friend recently shared these prospective questions for the CP community to ponder as we enter Pentecost:

• As we consider/begin/continue emerging from this “season of isolation,” what have we learned about community?
• What does the Pentecost story tell us?

If these questions prompt comments you’d be willing to share, please do so by emailing salong_now@ yahoo.com and we will provide them as post-Pentecost material.

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

HUMOR

• Christian Playbook humor links – new updates as of 5/22

PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES:

• For People Critically Ill, or Facing Great Uncertainty (bottom of first page shown HERE)
• Celtic Daily Prayer
• CP Prayer Page – containing LOADS of possibilities…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 31, 2020:

• Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30
• Psalm 104:24-34, 35b 
• 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 or Acts 2:1-21  
• John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39

Know someone who might like receiving messages like this?**  If so, forward this message to them and they can sign up HERE

A Devotion for Memorial Day by Fred Bauer provides some historical perspective on the holiday as well as his own personal practice with his mother. Definitely worth the 3-5 minute read!

ACTION: If you feel the urge, consider taking a 5-15 minute stroll through a cemetery you pass along your way today. Pray for those buried there, their sacrifices, their families and the love that they shared. Then, maybe it’s time for a phone call to someone whose memory you’d like to celebrate while he/she is still alive?

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

HUMOR

• Christian Playbook humor links – new updates as of 5/22

PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES:

• For People Critically Ill, or Facing Great Uncertainty (bottom of first page shown HERE)
• Celtic Daily Prayer
• CP Prayer Page – containing LOADS of possibilities…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 31, 2020:

• Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30
• Psalm 104:24-34, 35b 
• 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 or Acts 2:1-21  
• John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39

Know someone who might like receiving messages like this?**  If so, forward this message to them and they can sign up HERE

Guideposts keeps up the great sharing. THIS LINK will take you to their Moments of Grace e-book containing “17 Hope-Filled Devotions to Help You Through the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Here’s a bit more detail:

“What follows are 17 devotions by Guideposts editors sharing their own journeys in the pandemic and where they have found hope and comfort…and where we hope you might find solace too.”  ~ Moments of Grace, page 2

Readers have lots of options – read it in one sitting; bookmark the webpage and come back to it; download it; print it …  Whatever you do, consider reading it. {smile}

Many of us can relate to the robin analogy in Edward Grinnan’s devotion on page 3. The ending line of his page is a prayer available to each of us: “God of love and protection, abide with me during these difficult times.”

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

HUMOR

• Christian Playbook humor links – new updates as of 5/22

PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES:

• For People Critically Ill, or Facing Great Uncertainty (bottom of first page shown HERE)
• Celtic Daily Prayer
• CP Prayer Page – containing LOADS of possibilities…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 24, 2020:

• Acts 1:6-14 
• Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 
• 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 
• John 17:1-11

Know someone who might like receiving messages like this?**  If so, forward this message to them and they can sign up HERE

Our CP community continues to be blessed by those sharing materials (in this case, thanks to Chris for sharing Bishop Steven Charleston’s prayer!) A search of Bishop Steven Charleston yields a Facebook page with a bevy of material, including this Shelter in Faith visual done by Susan Scheidegger Janes that speaks volumes.

May we “shelter in faith” effectively this day and all days…  As you continue your day, consider saying aloud this beautiful, empowering prayer from Bishop Steven Charleston:

You are here for a reason that is defined not only by the work you do, but by the life you lead. You are a connecting point for the sacred, a living channel through which streams of grace flow out into the world, the people you meet, and the world you help to create simply by your presence. You are a messenger who lives the message and embodies the meaning of the holy in every choice you make. You are a healer, a source of nurture and wholeness, here for a reason that restores the bridge of hope.

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

HUMOR

• Christian Playbook humor links – new updates as of 5/10

PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES:

• For People Critically Ill, or Facing Great Uncertainty (bottom of first page shown HERE)
• Celtic Daily Prayer
• CP Prayer Page – containing LOADS of possibilities…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 24, 2020:

• Acts 1:6-14 
• Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 
• 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 
• John 17:1-11

Know someone who might like receiving messages like this?**  If so, forward this message to them and they can sign up HERE

The focus on  “A Seven-Day Experiment with Wholeness” concludes with the theme of Silence. Lynn suggests in her article that on  this day we should aspire to be silent longer than we ever have before.

How will you find time for that silence today? Will a walk in nature or time in a chair provide that opportunity? Wherever and however you find silence in this day… cherish it.

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

HUMOR

• Christian Playbook humor links – new updates as of 5/10

PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES:

• For People Critically Ill, or Facing Great Uncertainty (bottom of first page shown HERE)
• Celtic Daily Prayer
• CP Prayer Page – containing LOADS of possibilities…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 24, 2020:

• Acts 1:6-14 
• Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 
• 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 
• John 17:1-11

Know someone who might like receiving messages like this?**  If so, forward this message to them and they can sign up HERE

It’s not necessarily easy to make it through daily efforts as part of “A Seven-Day Experiment with Wholeness.” Even the best ideas still can take longer to accomplish than desired.

Day 4 is on Thankfulness. My good buddy Lee made it a practice to take a gratitude walk, verbally listing his thankfulness the way Lynne suggests in her article on Day 4. Psalm 103, verse 2 says: “may I never forget the good things God does for me.”

While our written lists of thankfulness will not necessarily fill pages, may our verbal/conscious lists on this day be voluminous.

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

HUMOR

• Christian Playbook humor links – new updates as of 5/10

PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES:

• For People Critically Ill, or Facing Great Uncertainty – from New Zealand Prayer Book (bottom of first page shown HERE)
• Celtic Daily Prayer
• CP Prayer Page – containing LOADS of possibilities…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 17, 2020:

• Acts 17:22-31
• Psalm 66:8-20
• 1 Peter 3:13-22
• John 14:15-21

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This week’s best intentions will include trying what Lynne M. Baab describes in THIS ARTICLE as “A Seven-Day Experiment with Wholeness.” Lynne shares a daily combination of action, prayer and reflection.

Today’s activity involves Nature: take time out for the natural world and Psalm 104.

ACTIION: Care to join for this week of wholeness activity? 

PRAYER: Creator, as we enjoy this wonderful earth and the creatures on it, may our hearts be stirred, our brains expanded and our countenances brightened! Amen!

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

HUMOR

• Christian Playbook humor links – new updates as of 5/10

PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES:

• For People Critically Ill, or Facing Great Uncertainty – from New Zealand Prayer Book (bottom of first page shown HERE)
• Celtic Daily Prayer
• CP Prayer Page – containing LOADS of possibilities…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 17, 2020:

• Acts 17:22-31
• Psalm 66:8-20
• 1 Peter 3:13-22
• John 14:15-21

Know someone who might like receiving messages like this?**  If so, forward this message to them and they can sign up HERE

Happy Mother’s Day!

Hmmm… while appreciating the concept, maybe this day can celebrate women who are wonderful examples to our world, whether they’ve given birth to children or not.

So… maybe this year we go with “Happy FeRoMo** Day!” to all the women who have been critical to a wonderful life?

My life blessings include a multitude of positive female role models – certainly my mom, who has been an inspiration in many ways; my wife; sister; aunts; cousins; female in-laws; gramas and other female family members. The blessings of female role models continue with teachers, ministers, work colleagues and friends. WOW – thank you ladies!

FeRoMo Day 2020 is a great time to remember these many special women in our lives. The Helen Steiner Rice poem HERE captures nice thoughts about the special women who care for us – – our mothers and/or other caring women in our lives!

ACTION: Maybe today you will forward this email, the Helen Steiner Rice poem and/or ??? to special women in your life?

PRAYER: God, we marvel at the gift of life. Our prayers of thanksgiving rise to you for the many women who have been instrumental in shaping our lives. Empower us to make this day refreshing and special for all women who are role models in our world!  Amen.

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

……………………………………………………..

** FeRoMo (Female Role Model) 

HUMOR

• Mother’s Day Song – watch from beginning if interested in how it was created 🙂
• Christian Playbook humor links – new updates as of 5/2

PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES:

• For People Critically Ill, or Facing Great Uncertainty – from New Zealand Prayer Book (bottom of first page shown HERE)
• Celtic Daily Prayer
• CP Prayer Page – containing LOADS of possibilities…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 10, 2020:

• Acts 7:55-60 
• Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 
• 1 Peter 2:2-10 
• John 14:1-14

Know someone who might like receiving messages like this?**  If so, forward this message to them and they can sign up HERE

The Guideposts article “How to Let Go and Let God, One Day at a Time” is HERE. One favorable aspect of Bob’s efforts is he frequently provides a list of several possibilities. In this case, there are 7 and this one resonates: “Choose a “letting go” motto.”

ACTION: Choose that “letting go” motto or action and use it when worries try to crowd in…

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

HUMOR

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• Christian Playbook humor links – new updates as of 5/2

PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES:

• For People Critically Ill, or Facing Great Uncertainty – from New Zealand Prayer Book (bottom of first page shown HERE)
• Celtic Daily Prayer
• CP Prayer Page – containing LOADS of possibilities…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 10, 2020:

• Acts 7:55-60 
• Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 
• 1 Peter 2:2-10 
• John 14:1-14

Know someone who might like receiving messages like this?**  If so, forward this message to them and they can sign up HERE